Development of the NESTA website is supported through a grant (NSF 0742222) from the National Science Foundation's Geoscience Education Program.

World Asthma Day

May 6 is World Asthma Day, an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve awareness of asthma around the world. Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs, in which airways become repeatedly inflamed and swollen, leading to difficulty in breathing. It is quite common, affecting nearly 10% of the developed world’s population. Although there are effective treatments available for asthma, its cause is not known and there is no cure. Asthma is typically made worse by poor air quality, and those who suffer from the disease are often very sensitive to pollution in the atmosphere.

You can read more about World Asthma Day on the GINA website, and use the resources there to find activities in your community that you can participate in. Check it out, and show your support for the large community of people who are affected by this disease!